Hi all! Happy New Year! I wish everyone joy, peace, and health in the upcoming year.
And now, to start things off with a bang, check out my most recent Earth Matters column in the Hampshire Gazette (Jan 2, 2016). It’s about life under the snow:
Wow, what a warm winter it’s been! Although today is predicted for a high of 37 (F), as those of you who live in this area know, the temperature has been in the 50s for weeks – very warm for December in New England. Christmas is nearly upon us, but the lack of seasonally-appropriate weather seems to have robbed almost everyone I know of a sense of “Christmas spirit”. (At least, amongst those who celebrate Christmas.)
On the up side, the warmer weather means I have gotten to go outdoors at lunchtime and take photographs! I am by no means a professional photographer, but I’ve been experimenting with a loaner camera. Not surprisingly, wildlife photos are proving to be very difficult (the lag time causes me to “lose” the subject, and focus can be a challenge), but here are some early efforts.
We also had this unexpected visitor: a red-necked grebe in winter plumage. It is unusual to see this bird on such a small body of water. It was a bit shy and stayed in the middle of the pond.
Photos aside, this warmer weather does not signify anything good about the condition of our planet. Here’s to colder temperatures in the days to come!
![By Martin (originally posted to Flickr as 041006) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://chickadeepress.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/geese_flying_in_an_orange_sky.jpg)
The old Peterson’s Field Guide page entitled “Confusing Fall Warblers” is only the tip of the iceberg; trying to identify the fall and winter plumages of not only warblers but shorebirds and many others is like starting all over again, without the benefit of song to help with the id. I have had to buy a new field guide as, alas, my old Peterson’s is not quite up to the task. Now I am on to National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America, which is serving me much better this season.
In an effort to improve my learning, I have also done a few pencil drawings of various birds; they are just copies of what’s in the book, but they are definitely improving my memory for the next time I see a flash of movement or color through the trees. Maybe I will post some of this work after my artistry improves.
If you are interested in fall migration and want to know what is coming through your area when, check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Regional Migration Forecast; this week’s post includes a terrific close-up of a loon with a beady red eye: http://birdcast.info/forecast/regional-migration-forecast-2-9-october-2015/.
In recent days, we have been the ever-so-lucky recipients of an “arctic blast”, exceptionally cold air pulled down by the jetstream from more northern climes. The wind chill has been much worse than the actual temperature; it was supposed to be -31 a couple of nights ago. I personally did not confirm this, preferring to stay inside and watch another episode of “Bones”.
On the upside, in spite of the cold weather, nature presses on. Believe it or not, now is this time (in New England, anyway) when great horned owls should be nesting, skunks mating, and redpolls arriving from their southern homes. If the weather warms up tonight (which is predicted), I might go out walking through the snow, listening for great horned owls. This is what I will be listening for:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/sounds
Of course, great horned owls aren’t the only owls you might hear at night. Cornell’s Ornithology Lab offers a download of a variety of owl calls that you might encounter.
And, for the real bird dorks among us (like me), here’s their livecam of a great horned owl’s nest in Savannah, Georgia. This is what we in New England have to look forward to in the upcoming months!
The nest, originally built by a pair of bald eagles, now contains the female and two baby owlets, hatched in early February. For video highlights dating back to mid-December, see here: http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/46/Great_Horned_Owls/
Happy owling!
